Case story of LWAC

In early 2010, Jan Engmann the CEO, founder of PPD and inventor of the LWAC, introduced the first ideas of replacing the aging steel ammunition box the M2A1. He was met skepticism and criticism from virtually any entity he approached. The idea of creating ammunition containers in plastics to be used in theater was unheard of and considered impossible. Nevertheless, his search for sponsors continued and in 2011, NAMMO®, one of the largest ammunition manufactures in the world, agreed to participate in the project as part of the offset obligations they had towards Denmark. A contract of 273 million Danish kroner was signed to begin the development of replacing the M2A1 steel ammo box.

The following years was spent creating, developing, analyzing material compositions and features that could be incorporated in the box to increase chances of success. After 4 years and several prototypes and test, the replacement for the M2A1 was brought to test in Norway.

For days on end, tests are conducted at the Bofors Test range in Sweden with results being presented immediately from their engineers and team of experts in the environmental test department. Test results are conclusive and impressive, the M2A1 replacement is better and more capable than the aging steel competition.

General company information

PPD is an innovative Danish company, serving the defence industry and specializing in the development and production of lightweight packaging solutions for military transportation, handling and storage of hazardous, high valuable and fragile goods according to military requirements.

Facts and features

PPD’s LWAC can be safely packed and stowed with no requirement for modification to current platforms, stowage systems or weapon mounts. Different colours can be incorporated into the composite LWAC case to signifying the type of ammunition within it:

blue = training,

green = operational etc.

Red = exercer cartridges

As the LWAC cases can be made semi-transparent, the number of rounds can be counted without having to open the case, saving time during stock checking. An RFID tag can be built in, allowing each case and its content to be tracked for movement.

In numbers

The significance of the weight saving is demonstrated by the savings that Denmark would have made during its deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. It would have represented a saving of 8 C-130 flights (and €1.14M) just in entry flights let alone savings on in theatre transport. The US is striving to achieve a 10% reduction in theatre/combat zone transport. It has been calculated that such a saving would have saved the US 7 lives a year in Afghanistan. Shifting ammunition is a very large part of the logistic requirement so any weight saving has an instant human return not to mention savings in costs, CO2 emissions and other green issues etc. For the humble infantryman the weight saving will reduce future medical costs for damaged knees and backs.

The LWAC® is already under evaluation by the MoD´s of UK, US, Singapore, UAE, Denmark and Norway,. Furthermore, Rheinmetall has agreed to expand the LWAC® program by including Insensitive Munition containers.

The LWAC is fully recyclable without any preparation and meets all the EU requirements for “green gas” emissions out to 2040.

LWAC – Light Weight Ammunition Cases

We are pleased to present PlastPack Defence new innovative Light Weight Ammunition Cases, the LWAC. Patented designs and special developed raw-material resins is what made it all possible. It is the logistical and tactical Light Weight Ammunition Cases for the future. Ammunition (small, medium and large-arms), pyrotechnics, explosives, countermeasures, flares, weapons and other dangerous goods can now be placed and transported safer and cheaper.

Moving away from the aging steel M2A1 to a polymer LWAC M2A1 is only a question of changing supplier. The design is a on-to-one drop in replacement, ensuring that all existing equipment using the ammo can, stays the same.

The development of the case has been done in close co-operation with end-users and the ammunition industry. It has included hundreds of people, Ph.D’s, the technological institute and many others. It has taken more tha 5 years to develop and create the product, and the result is remarkable.

Contact us to learn more about where the product can be acquired in your region

LWAC advantages

LWAC provides numerous advantages. The most important, is the direct cost savings over the full life cycle or total cost of ownership. This is due to: